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Hi there,
So here's what happened: I watched both latest Star Trek movies and got totally hooked by the universe, falling in love with one or two characters by the way.
I knew that there were older movies already, and also TV series and books. But it's only now that I want to start a novel that I realise how vast that world is! To begin, I'd like to read adventures involving the characters I met this week at the cinema... But when I check the books lists, it's not very clear to me which ones match (even remotely) the events of the movies
Am I stupid or is there some purist knowledge I'm not (yet!) versed in?
Thanks for your explanations!
(And sorry for the awkward english n_n')

At the moment, most of the books are based on the various original TV series, not the new movies. There have been a couple of young-adult novels set before the 2009 movie, but most of the adult novels take in place in the original timeline, before Nero changed everything in 2009 movie.

The TOS novels (short for The Original Series) feature the original versions of Kirk, Spock, Uhura, etcetera, as seen in the old 1960s TV series, so that might be a good place to start. Be aware, though, that these versions of the characters have lived slightly different lives than the new movie versions. For example, Spock and Uhura were not a couple in the original TV series so they're not a couple in the current TOS novels . . .

Keep in mind, the NuTrek universe started in 2009. So that's only four years for authors to write novels, and I would imagine they'd have to be extremely cautious in doing that simply because there's the likelihood of new movies on the horizons.

The two recent movies are a "reboot," a new continuity that's based on the characters from the original 1966 television series. Essentially, the various TV and movie series in the past -- Star Trek (aka The Original Series), The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise -- are all in a single shared universe (although with some differences in interpretation and continuity errors here and there), and the two recent movies are restarting in an alternate universe that branched off due to the time travel event that started the first movie. Because J.J. Abrams directed the films, this alternate timeline is generally called the "Abramsverse," while the rest of the franchise is the "Prime universe."

At the moment, the only books that are set in the Abramsverse are a series of young-adult Starfleet Academy novels, set during the 3-year gap in the first movie:

There were going to be four novels that were sequels to the first Abrams movie, but those plans fell through.

Otherwise, all the novels from Pocket Books are based on the Prime universe. The ones based on the original series involve the same characters you see in the new movies, but are based on the original versions of those characters. Some of them are under the title Star Trek: The Original Series, particularly the ones that have come out this year, but most are just under the title Star Trek, usually using either this logo or this one. The background, events, and style of those novels are going to be a lot different from what's in the movies, but the characters are pretty much the same, for the most part.

__________________Christopher L. Bennett Homepage -- Site update 11/16/14 including annotations for "The Caress of a Butterfly's Wing" and overview for DTI: The Collectors

Thanks Greg Cox, that is precisely what I wanted to know :]
I'm actually curious to learn about the "real" characters, so I'll be going for the TOS books.
Did you yourself read them? If yes, what's your opinion about the alternate timeline created in the last movies?

Thanks for the explanations - I knew there was something about an "Abramsverse" but I'm interested in reading about the original one !
And same question - what d'you think of the new alternate timeline?

Have you watched any of the Original Series episodes or movies yet? It might be a good idea to check out at least some of them, because a lot of the books build off of the events seen in some of the episodes, and it would help you get a feel for this version of the characters.
EDIT: They've been releasing novels based on The Original Series pretty regularly since the '80s. There are also novels based on the other series. Last time I heard someone give a count there were about 300 something Trek novels, and then there are dozens of non-fiction books.

__________________
They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites

JD, I still haven't watched anything aside from the two latest movies... But I think I'd rather read the books in order to build fresh pictures in my mind - I admit I'm a little afraid of the "old" looks of the technologies and characters in the original movies and series...

They do have remastered versions of The Original Series, which have cleaned up the picture and added new modern special effects. I think that does help with a modern audience, although it's still very much a '60s show.

__________________
They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites